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Two years after Pantera topped the chart with FAR BEYOND DRIVEN, Philip Anselmo, Rex Brown, Dimebag Darrell, and Vinnie Paul returned in 1996 with the dark, unrelenting and highly personal THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL. Featuring the singles “Drag The Waters,” “Suicide Note Pt. 1” and fan favorite “Floods” (a power ballad that includes one of Dimebag's best-ever guitar solos), the collection reached #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and went on to become Pantera's fourth consecutive platinum release. Rhino's new 2-CD 20th anniversary edition includes the original THE GREAT SOUTHERN TRENDKILL remastered, plus a dozen previously unreleased mixes, instrumentals, and live recordings - every album track is represented with an unreleased version. It's the ultimate way to experience one of the most intense and hardest-hitting albums Pantera ever recorded.

Rising through the clubs of Baltimore, Kix parlayed their reputation as one of the city's top glam metal outfits into a contract with Atlantic Records. The quintet's third collection for the label, BLOW MY FUSE, finally put them in the big leagues; the set went Platinum on the strength of such electrifying tracks as the AC/DC-esque “Cold Blood” and "Don't Close Your Eyes," an anti-suicide power ballad that nearly went Top 10. With original songs (largely the work of bassist/keyboardist Donnie Purnell) that are a cut above typical Headbanger's Ball fare, the 1988 album rocks from start to finish. Surely this underrated band's moment of glory, BLOW MY FUSE is the ideal way to get your Kix.

After an E.P. of amiable covers showed David Lee Roth kept his sense of humor when he left Van Halen, EAT 'EM AND SMILE showed he still had his ear for hard rock. For his first full-length solo album, Diamond Dave recruited three of the best players on the scene – former Zappa guitarist Steve Vai, future Mr. Big bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Gregg Bissonette – and got down to business. With VH vet Ted Templeman producing, the set gets off to a scorching start with “Yankee Rose” (which became an MTV staple, along with “Goin' Crazy”) and rarely lets up until Dave's closing take on the Sinatra classic “That's Life.” Released 30 years ago today, EAT 'EM AND SMILE has both the spirit and the chops of Roth's former band, and will put a smile on the face of any headbanger.

If you're inclined to dismiss Faster Pussycat with the tag "hair metal," give a listen to WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER first. The L.A. quintet's second album, the 1989 collection dials back the glam for a bluesier guitar attack, giving these dozen originals a gritty, streetwise foundation. While crowd-pleasers like "Poison Ivy" show the group can dish out pop-metal anthems with the best of them, songs like "House Of Pain" hit like a punch to the gut – this was a band living the life rather than just posing for pictures of it. With frontman Taime Downe in fine voice and the band roaring behind him, WAKE ME WHEN IT'S OVER is one of the 1980s most underrated hard rock albums.

It's pretty risky when a group changes frontmen, but Ozzy Osbourne's departure for a solo career and the arrival of former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio marked a new beginning for Black Sabbath. When the first Dio-led Sabbath album, HEAVEN AND HELL, hit the streets in 1980, it was clear the U.K. heavy metal quartet was firing on all cylinders. Featuring such superb songs as opener “Neon Knights,” “Die Young,” “Children Of The Sea” and the riff-driven title track, the collection became one of the band's most successful in America (and eventually went platinum). That nine albums into their career, Black Sabbath still had a stunner like HEAVEN AND HELL in them is one reason the group is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This worthy 1984 follow-up to Dio's debut announces its intentions from its opening track: “We Rock.” From that soon-to-be concert favorite to the epic finale “Egypt (The Chains Are On),” the headbanging quintet never lets up, though the addition of Rough Cutt keyboardist Claude Schnell to the line-up moves the band's sound ever so slightly closer to the mainstream. THE LAST IN LINE explores dark fantasy terrain that will be familiar to fans, but the powerful presence of Ronnie James Dio and the insistent guitar riffs of Vivian Campbell make every song a thrill. Dio passed away on this day in 2010, and we'll cue up this terrific 1984 collection to remember the distinctive frontman – when it came to heavy metal singing, he truly was THE LAST IN LINE.

"We felt like after 7 years of playing live, that we wanted to put out a record with all our best tunes,” noted Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul of the band's first concert collection, OFFICIAL LIVE: 101 PROOF. The 1997 album, produced by Paul and guitarist Dimebag Darrell, showed the decade's leading heavy metal band was as powerful on stage as in the studio with driving versions of 14 of the quartet's most memorable songs, including “Walk,” “Cemetery Gates” and “Hostile.” As an added bonus, the set closes with a pair of fiery new studio recordings: “Where You Come From” and “I Can't Hide” If you ever saw a Pantera show, it's not something you're ever likely to forget, and if not, don't miss OFFICIAL LIVE: 101 PROOF.

STAY HUNGRY was an appropriate title for Twisted Sister's breakthrough album; the band had spent nearly a decade clawing its way up from the clubs of New York and New Jersey. The quintet's insistent glam metal was ready for its close-up by the time of the collection's 1984 release – and so was frontman Dee Snider, whose garish make-up and flamboyant costumes were perfect for the then-new MTV. None of that would have mattered if the set's nine originals didn't rock ferociously, but they sure did, with “The Price” and hit singles “I Wanna Rock” and “We're Not Gonna Take It” among the highlights. Rhino's 25th anniversary Deluxe Edition of this '80s metal touchstone includes a bonus disc with 15 unreleased demos and outtakes plus the new recording “30.” Snider was born on this day in 1955, and we'll celebrate his birthday by turning STAY HUNGRY up to 11.

On this day in 1982, Metallica made its live debut at the Radio City club in Anaheim, California. Future Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine was playing guitar that night, but by the time of the band's first album, KILL 'EM ALL, he'd been replaced by Kirk Hammett – who proved the final ingredient needed for the quartet to conquer the world. Tracks like "Whiplash" and "Seek And Destroy" showed that lead vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich knew how to put songs together, and instro "(Anesthesia) - Pulling Teeth" left little doubt that Cliff Burton was one of the best bassists around. One of the first true thrash metal sets, KILL 'EM ALL went on to sell more than 3 million copies, and earned a place on Kerrang!'s list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time.

Founded in Brazil by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, Sepultura was hailed by fans and critics alike for its ever-evolving sound on a string of classic albums that have sold millions worldwide. The band's work for Roadrunner Records had a major influence on heavy metal, and the new THE ROADRUNNER ALBUMS 1985-1996 retraces the group's evolution over 11 years with a potent mix of aggression and groove. The collection combines Sepultura's debut EP, Bestial Devastation, with the band's first six studio albums: MORBID VISIONS (1986), SCHIZOPHRENIA (1987), BENEATH THE REMAINS (1989), ARISE (1991), CHAOS A.D. (1993), and ROOTS (1996). Sepultura made some of the most intense music in the world, and from their thrash metal beginnings to the more rhythmic sounds of their later releases, this 6-disc set never lets up.

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